Although, the international community is contributing to the relief and rehabilitation of Pakistan's floods affected people, the donations and contributions are not sufficient compared with the devastation caused by the floods. This was stated by Jim Karygiannis, member parliament from Scarborough-Agincourt, Canada during a press conference after his nine-day visit to the floods affected areas here on Monday.
Million of peoples have been rendered homeless and million of acres farmlands of the agriculture-based economy have been washed away by the worst floods, he added.
The flood inundated 1/5 area of the country from North to South, Karygiannis said, adding that the worst is yet not over even after the passage of two months. He said, "Government of Canada has allocated just $40.5 million for Pakistan to cope with the natural calamity and only four percent people of Canada have donated, which is too meager." He urged Canadian government to allocate another $20 million for Pakistan.
Sharing his experiences he had during the 9-day visit of the flood-hit areas, he said the raging floods caused unimaginable damage. "I felt week in the knees, when I reached Charsadda. I saw the countryside dotted with blue, silver, brown and green tar and came to know that these are the only shelter for the displaced people," he said.
During a two-hour flight from Karachi to Lahore, I saw the floods had destroyed million of homes and farmlands. I had the opportunity to visit some of the international NGOs and United Nation (UN) officials and learnt that every one of the six million homeless people are receiving necessary food, but the aid workers complained shortage of resources to carry on the task. He said many countries have committed to providing funds for reconstruction of the destroyed structure. He underlined the need of financial assistance for providing shelter and foods to the affectees.
"The aid workers need transport facility to continue the relief activities. I have written a report and will share the findings with my fellow parliamentarians upon returning to Canada. I will urge them to look into the recommendations, which I have made," he added. Speaking on the occasion, Dr Shahnaz Dar, a medical expert from Canada, said the floods pushed Pakistan back to 1947, the year of it existence. Pakistan is now a new-born baby in this competitive world, which needs to be re-nourished, she added.
S Zaki Ahmed, Chief of Internal Medicine Regional Health Sciences Centre Thunder Bay, Ontario said he came here to provide medical care to the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). The people in camps were suffering from waterborne diseases like diarrhea and gastro-enteritis. Skin diseases are also on the rise among the affectees, he added.